install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install calabash

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

XProc (XML Pipeline Language) implementation

Project links

Commands and aliases

calabash

history

Project history and usage

XML Calabash is Norm Tovey-Walsh's Java implementation of XProc, the W3C XML pipeline language. The Homebrew `calabash` formula tracks the 1.x line, a command-line processor for running XML processing pipelines from packages, scripts, and Java classpaths.

Project history

Norm Walsh published the XML Calabash status page on 24 August 2008 as an implementation of the then-developing W3C XProc work. The same page records the initial 0.9.0a release on 24 August 2008, a 0.9.0 beta release on 28 November 2008, and a 1.0.0 stable release on 20 January 2012.

The archived 1.x documentation says Calabash is built in Java on top of Saxon and implements XProc, with command-line use through `com.xmlcalabash.drivers.Main`. The current XML Calabash homepage has moved on to XML Calabash 3.x for XProc 3.1, while preserving the 1.x docs as an archive.

Adoption history

Calabash was adopted in the XML tooling community as a practical command-line XProc processor for chaining XSLT, validation, document loading, and other XML pipeline steps. Its status page linked test-suite results, reflecting the XProc community's emphasis on specification conformance.

The 1.x package remained useful for systems built around XProc 1.0 after the W3C Recommendation, while later XML Calabash 3.x moved to the newer XProc 3.1 ecosystem and Codeberg-hosted releases.

How it is used

Users run Calabash by placing `calabash.jar` and dependencies on the Java classpath and invoking `java com.xmlcalabash.drivers.Main` with pipeline options and an `.xpl` file. Version 0.9.18 added support for constructing simple linear pipelines directly on the command line with repeated step options.

The tool is mostly a batch-processing component for XML-heavy build, publishing, documentation, and data-conversion workflows rather than a general interactive CLI.

Why package nerds care

XML Calabash is significant because it packages an XML standards implementation as a Unix-style command-line tool. It is the kind of package that only a niche group needs, but that group needs it reproducibly in build farms, publishing pipelines, and long-lived XML document systems.

Its history also marks the split between XProc 1.x compatibility tooling and newer XProc 3.x work, which matters when package managers choose old-but-stable implementations for legacy workflows.

Timeline

2008: Project status page and initial 0.9.0a release published on 24 August 2008.
2008: 0.9.0 beta release published on 28 November 2008.
2010: XProc 1.0 became a W3C Recommendation on 11 May 2010, the version the 1.x project targeted.
2012: XML Calabash 1.0.0 stable released on 20 January 2012.
2013: XML Calabash 1.0.15 listed as available on the archived status page.
2020s: The main XML Calabash site focuses on 3.x, an implementation of XProc 3.1, while archiving the 1.x pages.

Related projects

Related projects and standards include XProc, Saxon, XML Calabash 3.x, MorganaXProc, XSLT processors, and DocBook/DITA publishing pipelines. Calabash belongs to the broader XML command-line tooling world rather than mainstream application development packages.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`calabash`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version1.5.7-120

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/ndw/xmlcalabash1

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/ndw/xmlcalabash1none confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:calabash
Version	1.5.7-120
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/calabash
Homepage	https://xmlcalabash.com/
Repository	https://github.com/ndw/xmlcalabash1
Upstream docs	https://www.xmlcalabash.com/archive-1.x/docs
License	GPL-2.0-only OR CDDL-1.0
Source archive	https://github.com/ndw/xmlcalabash1/releases/download/1.5.7-120/xmlcalabash-1.5.7-120.zip
Dependencies	openjdk, saxon
Bottle	available (on all)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	calabash
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/calabash.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install calabash with Homebrew